question about cell phones

[sniper7]

We went to verizon today and my fiance got the new droid...I am insanely jealous. My upgrade doesn't come up till september and I am not going to pay $550 just to get the phone...i have the LG Dare now.

Anyways, my question is about buying them off craigslist or ebay or somewhere.

What if the phone was reported as lost or stolen to verizon by the customer these guys got it from, then you buy it from the guy, change it over to your number using *228 (I think that is the code).

I just wondered because she pays for the insurance and I don't but she lost her phone once so i am curious what could have happened to it had someone found it, if it ended up on craiglist or something?

can you get in trouble with verizon or will they find out or can they shut your service off.
also what about the flashed phones. I would much rather have a Iphone than the droid at this point...although i really do love the Droid operating system but know the Iphone has been great.

[SNAFU]

My upgrade is here. Get a whopping $50 credit towards a upgrade.
Keeping my Gz One

[sniper7]

that is probably the 1 year? I think every 2 years you get the phone for the low price. hers was 299, get 100 rebate. if I were to get it the price would have been 550 for just the phone.

[Dr_Fwd]

Hey Sniper, you might want to try this (http://www.letstalk.com/home.htm) , that's where I got my last two phones...

[theGinsue]

that is probably the 1 year? I think every 2 years you get the phone for the low price. hers was 299, get 100 rebate. if I were to get it the price would have been 550 for just the phone.

Yeah, as a 2-year loyal customer you get a discount (a whopping $100) off of the FULL price while a new customer can get the phone for free, $50, $100, etc. depending on the model of the phone. Great way to reward loyalty; eh?!


Hey Sniper, you might want to try this (http://www.letstalk.com/home.htm) , that's where I got my last two phones...

Can these phones and those bargain prices work if you have an existing contract with, say, Verizon? Can you give us a bit more detail about your experiences with this site?

I ask because.... My wife has had her phone for over 4 years. We've used the upgrades in the past to replace my phone and my sons phone. Now, her existing phone battery is constantly needing to be charged and she'd like to upgrade her phone to something a bit better (She likes the Envy II, or may consider something similar). We're not looking for the real high-end internet/data/app phones as we refuse to pay for the data access and such, just a good phone that is easy to text with. What would be involved with using this site to obtain a phone to replace her existing phone? Do you have to pay an activation fee to get the replacement phone working?

Sorry for all of the questions, but we really are in the market now and don't want to waste our money. I do know that eBay, CL, etc won't even be considered but we're not paying Verizons store price for this. Any help will be much appreciated.

[SNAFU]

that is probably the 1 year? I think every 2 years you get the phone for the low price. hers was 299, get 100 rebate. if I were to get it the price would have been 550 for just the phone.


It was the 2 yr,,think it was 100 off the Droid too. But I only call in/out,my computer is for email.
I'm in construction,I could see getting a touch screen,then whoops,it falls off a ladder.
Or gets cracked by equipment.

[theGinsue]

Yeah SNAFU, this is my perspective too. I had to special order my phone because I just wanted a PHONE (perhaps a little texting to respond to my kids texts too, but really, just a phone). I can't take a cell phone with a camera through the gates of where I work and must remove the cell battery if I want to take it into the building I work in.

The Verizon store 2 models without cameras in the store - one was grandpa's phone and the other was a thick tactical phone that you could bury on the beach, come back in a year, charge it and it would be good to go. They had another phone that I liked that could be ordered without the camera - that's the option I went with. It was nothing too fancy but it wasn't more than I wanted in a phone either.

If I want to take digital pictures, I have 2 digital cameras. If I want data from the web, I have access to enough computers around to meet my needs. I just wanted a basic phone.

[Dr_Fwd]

Yeah, as a 2-year loyal customer you get a discount (a whopping $100) off of the FULL price while a new customer can get the phone for free, $50, $100, etc. depending on the model of the phone. Great way to reward loyalty; eh?!



Can these phones and those bargain prices work if you have an existing contract with, say, Verizon? Can you give us a bit more detail about your experiences with this site?

I ask because.... My wife has had her phone for over 4 years. We've used the upgrades in the past to replace my phone and my sons phone. Now, her existing phone battery is constantly needing to be charged and she'd like to upgrade her phone to something a bit better (She likes the Envy II, or may consider something similar). We're not looking for the real high-end internet/data/app phones as we refuse to pay for the data access and such, just a good phone that is easy to text with. What would be involved with using this site to obtain a phone to replace her existing phone? Do you have to pay an activation fee to get the replacement phone working?

Sorry for all of the questions, but we really are in the market now and don't want to waste our money. I do know that eBay, CL, etc won't even be considered but we're not paying Verizons store price for this. Any help will be much appreciated.

First time I used the site I was upgrading the phones as an existing Verizon customer (two phones family plan) I don't remember if I paid activation fee or not, but I do remember that I've got one phone for free and another one free + they sent me $50 gift card. The second time I used it I was switching to TMobile - again, I've got two free phones but had to pay activation fee ($35 a line). I was transfering my "old #" to TMobile and they took care of everything. Basically what I had to do when I received package from them is- take the phone out of the box, put the SIM card, charge the phone and it was good to go.

they also have 800 number you can cal and ask them any questions.

I think there is an option where you can see the prices for the existing customers on that site.

[Dr_Fwd]

Here, hope it will help

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn270/Dr_Fwd/letstalk.jpg

[sniper7]

Hey Sniper, you might want to try this (http://www.letstalk.com/home.htm) , that's where I got my last two phones...


they want $550 without a plan...same price verizon wants.

[Dr_Fwd]

they want $550 without a plan...same price verizon wants.

Upgrade w/Contract Extension

Product Price $349.99
Shipping: FREE

[sniper7]

Upgrade w/Contract Extension

Product Price $349.99
Shipping: FREE


yeah that isn't too bad, but not sure I want to pay $350 for that phone. the new data plan they have also costs an extra $15 a month compared to my current phone with unlimited data.



also, anyone know more details on the 5GB limit on data? girl at the store told me it was unlimited with a 5GB limit[Swim]

she also mentioned if you go over the limit they will just credit the account and the limit is set in case people are tethering then they will get charged....I don't get it

[Irving]

Ginsue, I had the Envy and Envy2. The Envy 2 was a terrible phone, but I think they cleaned up all the problems with the Envy3. Just a heads up.

[theGinsue]

Thanks for the input Stuart. My son had an Envy & busted it (wifes decision to give a 16yo boy a delicate phone). We replaced it with an Envy 3 (again, wifes decision - I don't get to make decisions around here, I just pay the bills [sorta like being an American taxpayer]).

She said that the 3 had too much stuff she didn't need and thought the 2 would be better for her. I'll pass on to her that it'd just be smarter to get the 3 for her too. I'm sure I'll be ignored and she'll end up going with a Droid or something, but I've gotta try.

Thanks again for the info.

Also, thanks to Dr_Fwd for all of the info. It definitely helps.

[Irving]

Going to a phone with less features is never the answer. I learned that the hard way by going from the Envy2 to a Blitz (after replacing the Envy2 six times in a row). The Blitz looked fine at first, but it didn't have features like a calculator or even a the corresponding letters to each number like a regular phone. Envy2 had good features, but was too small for my hands and I had a different problem over and over again.

First the sound went out. Then one button or another wouldn't work. Next phone would turn itself off all the time. I'd text someone, and then wonder why they hadn't gotten back to me for 3 hours, only to discover that my phone had been off the whole time.


As far as her battery charging issues, it may actually be the charger instead of the battery. One of the people at the store was telling a lady with the same problem that they are constantly having those complaints, and it is usually because people just leave their charger plugged into the wall (I do it) and it burns the charger out.

Try picking up a new wall charger for a few bucks to start. Then you could try replacing the battery. However, if she is like me, she just gets sick of the phone not working like it's supposed to and just wants to ditch it and get a new one.

Good luck.

[theGinsue]

As far as her battery charging issues, it may actually be the charger instead of the battery. One of the people at the store was telling a lady with the same problem that they are constantly having those complaints, and it is usually because people just leave their charger plugged into the wall (I do it) and it burns the charger out.

Yes, I considered this possibility. I've even received a safety notice recently that stated that cell phone chargers have been responsible for many house fires because they were left plugged in even though they weren't being used to charge a phone at the time.


Try picking up a new wall charger for a few bucks to start. Then you could try replacing the battery. However, if she is like me, she just gets sick of the phone not working like it's supposed to and just wants to ditch it and get a new one.

I think this is where she's at right now. I suggested getting a new battery and possibly a new charge, but she told me that we might as well just spend the money on a whole new phone. She has had this particular model for over 4 years and I think she'd just like to get something else.